New Hobby
by badly-knitted
Summary: With a bit of free time on his hands, Ryo has decided to take up a new hobby. Written for Challenge 18: Floppy at beattheblackdog.


**Title:** New Hobby

 **Author:** badly-knitted

 **Characters:** Ryo, OFC, mentions Dee.

 **Rating:** G

 **Setting:** After the manga.

 **Summary:** Ryo has decided to take up a new hobby.

 **Word Count:** 641

 **Content Notes:** None necessary.

 **Written For:** Amnesty,using Challenge 18: Floppy at beattheblackdog.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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Ryo frowned in consternation; it had gone all floppy and he had no idea where he'd gone wrong. Everything had seemed fine and then suddenly it had started wobbling and… He shrugged; best chalk it up to being out of practice and start over. Discarding his first attempt, he smooshed it all back together again, added fresh clay and worked it into a smooth, even consistency; maybe he'd added too much water before. Clay wouldn't hold its shape if it got too wet.

Slapping the greyish lump down in the middle of the potter's wheel, he set it spinning and began to shape his pot again, smiling to himself. This took him back; he hadn't worked in clay since high school, but when he'd spotted a local pottery class being advertised, he'd signed up immediately. He'd always enjoyed art class at school, especially anything involving clay; making something artistic from a substance that was so unappealing to look at fascinated him. Not only that but he enjoyed the feel of clay in his hands, the texture and slipperiness, and he loved how clean and soft it made his skin.

Ah. This attempt was way better than the last one. Keeping the wheel spinning evenly, Ryo drew the clay up and outwards, pressed into the middle, gradually widening the hole, the sides growing thinner as he worked. He was aiming to make a fruit bowl for Dee, so he wanted it sturdy yet elegant.

"How are you doing, Randy?" the teacher asked. "That's looking good."

Ryo kept his eyes on his work; he knew better than to look away. "My first try went floppy and collapsed, but this one seems to be going better so far." He splashed a bit of water on to keep the clay moist. "Everything I learned in school is slowly coming back." Carefully, he shaped the rim, then slowed the spinning of the wheel, gradually bringing it to a halt and holding his breath as he did so. This would be the moment of truth; would the bowl collapse without the centrifugal force imposed on it by the constant spinning motion helping it to maintain its shape?

It didn't and he let his breath out in a sigh of relief. The bowl was very simple, wide and shallow with a turned out rim, but once it was fired and then glazed it should look quite nice. Grasping the handles of the cut-off wire Ryo deftly slid it across the surface of the wheel, slicing his dish free so it could be transferred to a tray, ready to go in the kiln.

He glanced up at the teacher with a grin. "Not bad considering it's the first thing I've made in over ten years. Maybe I'll try something a bit more adventurous next time."

The teacher, Julia, laughed. "Keep up this kind of progress and you'll soon be helping me run the class. So, what will you do with your creation once it's been fired and glazed?"

"My boyfriend doesn't have a proper fruit bowl, so hopefully this will serve better than the old wok he's been using."

"I'd say it should be perfect," Julia told him. She looked slightly wistful for some reason. "Your boyfriend is a lucky man."

"I think I'll reserve judgement on that until I see whether or not this gets through firing without exploding or something," Ryo chuckled, wiping the worst of the clay off his hands with a rag.

"I think it will, you haven't drawn the clay out too thin, and there's no evidence of air bubbles. Well done."

"Thanks." Ryo was more than pleased, and he hoped Dee would like his gift when it was finished. Signing up for the pottery class had been a great idea; it was so relaxing. He was already looking forward to next week's class.

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The End


End file.
